Lake Pleasant

One morning the in-laws, the kids and I set out to see if we could find Lake Pleasant. I had heard about it and seen Lake Pleasant Parkway so I figured it was pretty close. The GPS said 40 miles but in actuality I would say we came upon it in no farther than 20. It was really cool to see such a huge lake in the middle of the dessert. We all loved exploring the area and I'm glad to know we have such a great recreational area so close to home. Maybe someday we can get a boat. And pull it behind our motorhome. And camp and go boating, and fishing, and hiking and off-roading........

Watching a rattlesnake in the visitor's center.
Panning for gold at the visitor's center.
In front of a really tall cactus.
Hiking on a trail by the visitor's center.
Trail down to the campground.

Casino

After closing on our house P. took the kids back home for naps and I went with my in-laws to a casino in Scottsdale. I am always up for a little gaming myself so used the opportunity to play a little and get out of the house without the kiddos. Mostly I just needed a change from the norm and a day out at the casino sounded like fun. I was off on my own after obtaining a players card and sat down at a video roulette table. I lost $40 in a matter of about 10 minutes and decided I was done. It wasn't fun losing and in fact it made me a little sick to my stomach. I am pretty sure I could have used that $40 on something much better than 10 minutes in a smokey casino. That $40 could have gotten me a few much needed shirts and I think it would have been more fun shopping. So instead of feeling bad for myself I wandered around the beautiful hotel they had there, grabbed a Phoenix/Scottsdale visitors magazine and found a quiet spot overlooking the pool to read. It was a perfect way to spend my afternoon. I people watched, read, closed my eyes for a bit and did some thinking. I was relaxed, I was alone and I was content. I thought about my lost $40 for a little bit but mostly I just enjoyed the quiet. It was a perfectly sunny and beautiful day and I thought about how perfect and beautiful my life was. And it really is.

"I made a LOOOOOOONG train mom!"

My Pretty Little Girl

Jamie is growing up so fast. Where did my little baby girl go? She is getting so big and so beautiful. I just wish time would slow down a little. I was looking at her the other day thinking how amazing God is to have created such a perfect little face. Her eyes, her nose, her lips, her skin, all perfectly made and perfectly beautiful. Jamie talks all day now. She does almost everything her brother does. She is 18 months old now and wearing 2T clothes. She makes me so happy and I can't imagine life without her.
How big does she look here? Wow. She is truly the sweetest little Sugar Ball you have ever seen.

Oranges

Jamie loves oranges. She has all of 5 teeth all in the front but she eats oranges like they are nothing. P. planted two Tangelo trees today. For himself, but for Jamie girl who will share her love of oranges with her dad. Until our trees produce we get our oranges from Uncle Bob and Aunt Edna. The kids love to pick them off their trees and Jamie can't always wait until they are peeled to have a taste.

Pic of the kids showing off their oranges. Jamie's is behind her head.
Sweeping Uncle Bob's backyard for him.
Pete likes them too. But not quite as much as Jamie.I posted this pic because it is funny but also because his mouth looks a lot like Juluis' mouth on his shirt.

Date

It has been a long, long time since P. and I have been on a date. And it had been a month since I had eaten a meal without a kid around. So, last Saturday was THE BEST NIGHT EVER! No, not really, but it was pretty great. Since the in-laws are here they stayed home with the kids and we took off about 5pm for dinner at PF Changs. We had such a fun, relaxing, enjoyable, yummy dinner together. The food was so delicious and the evening weather was perfect. We sat outside and took our time having an appetizer, 2 entrees and 3 desserts. Yes, 3 desserts. It's a long story but let's just say they were all wonderful and we had no problems eating them all. After dinner we went shopping. Now, that doesn't seem very exciting to the normal person but when you NEVER go shopping without a child, or two, with you, shopping by yourself or with just your husband is quite enjoyable. We had a good time browsing and taking our time so we were not home before they went to bed. It was a great night and we really appreciated the time away my in-laws gave us. It made me realize how badly we need to find a babysitter!
Enjoying my second dessert.

Work

P. has used his dad's visit and assistance to do a couple things around the house. We bought a shed for the backyard and they, with the help of the kids of course, put it together last weekend. It's great and will provide lot's of storage for our outdoor things.

Pete drilling the floor of the shed and Jamie drilling her big belly. :) She does that because that's what I do with her when we play with Pete's tools. I drill her belly and she laughs and laughs.Three generations of Selinski's.We also bought play sand at Lowe's for the kids old ladybug "pool" which is now a sandbox. The sandbox is a blessing and a curse. The kids love it but every day I need to sweep both outside and inside.
We also got a few fruit trees. Here are the boys planting an apple tree that has 5 different kids of apples on it. Can't wait to try them in the next couple of years! They are planting two tangelo trees tomorrow. Yum.

Pete helping dad dig the hole for the tree.
Cutting the pot to the tree.
It's in! Our first new tree in our new house.
And my sweet little boy ready for a nap after a long morning of helping dad and Opa.

In-Laws

So, my in-laws have been here from MI for a week now. They came last Friday and are staying until Sunday morning. I haven't posted on my blog much lately since we have been busy and have had company so I have quite a few updates to make for you all to see. The in-laws are at a casino today and the kids are sleeping so here goes.....

The visit with Omi and Opa has been wonderful. They fit right in. The kids love having them here and I love the company and extra help. I am hoping they plan on spending their winters here in AZ with us sooner than later.

We took them to IN-N-Out for the their first time the day they got here. They could see why it's one of my favorites.
Jamie loves ketchup. Or maybe she just likes to dip her food in sauces because it is fun, and messy. She holds her little ketchup cup right up to her chest and dips. She mostly just uses the fries as spoons to eat the ketchup but in the end ketchup and all her fries are gone.Picture Pete took of himself in In-N-Out. Sometimes when I upload pictures from my camera I find cute surprises of pictures Pete took of things, himself and accidental videos he recorded. Funny.

We Bought A House

We are official homeowners of the house we have been living in since the beginning of Jan. We signed all the papers yesterday and closed on our beautiful home. We are so excited. Here are some pics of the event. Yay us. And thanks to the Lord for blessings us, taking care of us and providing for us. But more than anything, thank you God for our family and these two beautiful kids we have to raise in our new home.

Forgot

I forgot a couple pics in my last post but they were too good to leave out.....

P. met a guy at work that he thought was really cool so we asked them, him and his family, if they wanted to hang out sometime. We met him, his wife, their 4 yr old son and their 3 mo. old twins at Chik-fil-A last Saturday. P. held one of the twins for a while and Pete sat right there holding the baby too for a long, long time. It was the cutest thing. You would think that would make me want another baby right? Seeing husband hold little baby, seeing Pete love and kiss on the little baby.....nope. Seeing those babies made me thankful I wasn't nauseous from morning sickness, tired from too little sleep, or needing to breastfeed in a public place instead of eating my own lunch. But here is the cute picture of my boys and someone else's baby.And a couple pictures of the cutest little girl in the whole world at church last Saturday night. Yes, it does get cold in AZ after the sun goes down! Our church is the best. Playgrounds for the kids, cafeteria for dinner, awesome services, amazing classes for the kids. It's such a blessing.

TGIF

This week was a little hard for me. I had little energy, little patience and Pete wasn't his normal well behaved self. I did a lot of yelling, a lot of eating and a lot of looking at the clock to see if P. was coming home yet. Let's just say I am glad tomorrow is Friday.

It may have been a tough week for me but the kids were still as cute as ever and we still had a lot of fun.
The carousel at the mall. It's a big hit.Sitting in more boxes.Duck pond on a Thursday night.The weather was beautiful today. Just beautiful. We spent all day outside. Hats are a necessity for the kids just as they were in MI but for a totally different reason. We bought our 3rd and 4th bottles of sunscreen last night since we have been here.

Pete has a couple cute names for things so I thought I would share. He calls our neighborhood a "neighborhome" and he calls the freeway a "freeroad". His favorite foods have become eggs and red & yellow peppers. His favorite past times are bugging his sister and washing windows with me. He loves to read books and they are both in reading programs at the library where they get prizes when they read a certain number of books.

Jamie had her 18 month doctors appt today. Everything was great except they told me she should weight more and that the mole on her back doesn't look good anymore. She was in the 75% of height and the 50% of weight so I wasn't sure what the problem was but the doctor said she should weight about 25-26 lbs right now and she weighs 23. We are not worried. But I will give her more milk, cheese and higher calorie foods like the doctor recommended. The doc said her mole has grown another cm and it was looking more irregular so at her 2 yr appt if it still doesn't look good she will refer us to a dermatologist. We have to keep it covered at all times when she is in the sun. Jamie only got a flu shot today and cried for about 1/4 of a second and was done. Overall she is happy, healthy, on track and on schedule. Please keep her mole in your prayers that it is nothing serious and nothing too painful for her to have removed in the future.

My in-laws come for a visit tomorrow from MI. We are looking forward to seeing them and sharing our new home, city and life with them. Off to get ready for bed. All this AZ sun and playing outside tires me out!

Super Bowl Sunday

No Super Bowl Sunday party at our old church this year. I kind of missed it. But instead we had fun with Uncle Bob and Aunt Edna. They came over around kick-off for some chili, cornbread and birthday cake. Uncle Bob was 77 yesterday and we were glad to be here with him to celebrate. Here are some pics.

First thing in the morning, kids wanted to dive into their popcorn tin from Nana and Grandpa. Pretzels and cheesy popcorn for breakfast!Ready for kick-off with 5 layer mexican dip and chips.Here is daddy helping Jamie up who flipped over in her Dora chair backwards while watching the game.Pete put the candle in UB's birthday cake. I didn't make a cake for him and I felt really bad about it but I blame the move and the fact that I don't have much in my bare cabinets and fridge just yet.Taking UB his cake.Pete blowing out his candle for him.Sharing cake together. After UB and AE left Pete said, "Uncle Bob old." I laughed and said, yup.And Aunt Edna trying to see and hear the game on our little TV. So funny! Hoping to have a big nice one by this time next year.